by Cynthia Eden
“Great.” She offered him a high-wattage grin. “Then you can make certain your client cooperates.”
“My client is being framed.”
She snorted. “Right. Like he didn’t have the ruby in his coat when I tackled him.”
Kendrick swiped a hand over the lower part of his face. Harper was pretty sure he was trying to hide a smile. “I did hear about the tackle.”
“Good. Then you heard that he had the stolen ruby in his possession at the time I took him down. That means the man has zero defense.”
“Don’t be so sure…”
She was sure. “His cooperation would help things for him. Tomas could sure use a deal right about now.”
Kendrick’s hand fell. “We both know you don’t have the authority to make any deals. Unless…have I missed something? Is Wilde now working with the DA?” He blinked innocently.
Layla sighed. “Kendrick, get them in the room.”
“Of course, my love.”
Layla’s shoulders became even straighter.
“I meant, of course, Detective Lopez,” Kendrick corrected smoothly. “But I want to be very clear on this…no subterfuge will be used on my client. You can’t pretend there is a deal for him when nothing is on the table.”
“Nothing?” Harper’s chin angled up. “My partner has a great many connections.”
“Does he now.” Not a question. Once more, Kendrick assessed a silent Roman.
“If Tomas answers our questions, then Roman might be willing to use those connections.” Harper kept her voice casual. “It would really just depend on the answers that Tomas gives.”
“Uh, huh.” Kendrick’s gaze sharpened. “You know, I don’t think your partner has actually said one word during this whole conversation.”
“He’s the strong, silent type…who still gets shit done.” She tapped one foot. “Can we get this show rolling? I do have other plans for the day.”
Kendrick waved toward interrogation. “Absolutely, but be warned, I will advise my client against answering any questions that would incriminate him.”
“I have been warned.” She hurried into the room. The museum manager waited at a table. A bit of scruff lined his jaw, his eyes were surrounded by dark shadows, and the jail uniform appeared quite garish on him.
When Tomas saw her, he jumped to his feet. “Keep her away from me!”
Harper gasped. “That is hurtful. Especially when I am here to help you.”
“I’m in here because of you!” He glared. Then his glare jerked to Kendrick as the lawyer entered the room. “I thought you’d have me out on bail! I thought—”
“Working on the situation,” Kendrick allowed with a shrug. “You need to have some patience. Even I can’t work miracles. Despite what you may have heard.”
“Oh, shit!” Tomas’s eyes doubled in size. “He’s here, too? You let him in?” Tomas pointed at Roman. “What kind of lawyer are you?”
“The kind that is getting annoyed.” Kendrick propped his shoulders against a nearby wall as annoyance slid across his handsome features. “Sit down, Tomas. Let’s make this blessedly brief.”
Layla hadn’t followed them into the room. Harper figured she was watching on the other side of the one-way mirror. A young cop waited in the corner, and the cop’s sharp gaze remained on Tomas as he slowly sat back down.
“Harper and…Mr. Smith, I believe it was?” Kendrick drawled. “They have questions for you.”
Tomas opened his mouth—
“I am here, of course,” Kendrick continued with a droll wave of his hand, “to make sure that you receive full legal representation. I don’t want you to speak out of turn to them.”
“Maybe I don’t want to speak to them at all!” Spittle flew from Tomas’s mouth.
“Too bad.” Harper flattened her palms on the table and leaned toward him. “Unless you want to go down for kidnapping.”
“What?” Tomas blanched.
Kendrick sighed. “Here we go. Harper, don’t throw out big statements like that. Don’t—”
“You have a partner,” Harper said. She could feel the weight of Roman’s stare on her. “Name the partner.”
“Why the hell would I do that?” Tomas snarled.
Ah. So there was a partner. His answer had just confirmed it for her. “You should do that because your partner is trying to pull you into a murder.”
Tomas’s jaw nearly hit the table.
“Stop right there,” Kendrick ordered before Tomas could speak. “Harper, if you’re going to pull this BS, you might as well walk out of the door this instant. You’re wasting my time and disappointing me and—”
“No.” Roman’s voice. Low. Lethal.
She looked back to see Kendrick blink.
“He speaks,” Kendrick drawled.
“Harper disappoints no one,” Roman growled.
“Noting that right now.” Kendrick nodded. “Anything else I should be aware of?”
“Yes.” Harper turned back to Tomas. “Since you were arrested, Tomas, there have been several attempts on Roman’s life. On my life. Your partner didn’t like that we stopped the theft, so he reached out for some payback? Is that what happened?”
Tomas paled. “I-I had nothing to do with any attempts on you—or him! I’ve been locked up since that night! If someone is going after you two, it’s probably just someone else you pissed off. Has nothing to do with me!”
She glanced at her nails. “Cooperation is key. Roman knows so many people. So many folks who would like to help him.” She flickered her gaze to Tomas. “You should be someone who wants to help him, too. You should want to be on his good side.”
“Harper,” Kendrick warned. “The ice is thin. It will break. You’ll fall.”
She huffed out a breath as she kept her attention on a sweating Tomas. “Your partner is leaving you to take the full fall. How is that a good plan? Are you going to let him get away while you stay locked up?”
She saw the flash of anger on Tomas’s face. Nope. He wasn’t going to let that happen. But the man also wasn’t talking. His lips had clamped tightly together. Great. Maybe it was time for her to tag out on this one. Harper pushed away from the table. Turned on her heel.
“We’re done already?” Kendrick glanced at his watch. “Excellent. I have a meeting with a judge—”
“Your turn,” Harper told Roman.
His features immediately tightened. It was interesting to watch. He’d looked hard and dangerous a moment before, but at her words, a change swept over him. Subtle at first. His lips thinned. His eyes became narrower. His jaw harder. His shoulders somehow looked broader, and when he stalked toward the table, Harper could have sworn that a chill swept the room.
Tomas stiffened. “What does he want?”
Roman stopped at the edge of the table. “Do you know who I am?”
“You’re her partner. Roman Smith.”
Silence. Then Roman asked again, “Do you know who I am?”
“Ahem.” From Kendrick. “Asked and answered. My client—”
“Because if you knew who I really was, you’d be shitting yourself right now.”
Harper’s brows shot up.
“You would know that I don’t give a damn that your lawyer is standing behind me. Because, you see, I could kill you before he even took a step forward.”
“This interview is over,” Kendrick thundered.
“You don’t want me for an enemy, Tomas. That’s a fatal mistake. Because I do have lots of connections. Only they are not just with people in the government. They’re with folks who spend all their time behind bars. People who don’t have trouble doling out some pain.”
“Harper.” Kendrick was beside her. His voice snapped like a whip as he snarled, “He’s threatening my client. We are done.”
Tomas was sweating buckets. Maybe crying?
“Do you like pain, Tomas?” Roman asked. “I hope so.”
Chill bumps rose over her arms. That voice—she’d never he
ard Roman sound quite like that. It was almost as if a stranger was talking. Not Roman. Not her Roman.
Tagging out had not been the best idea ever. Roman was taking the “bad cop” role to a whole new level.
The door opened. Layla stood there. Appeared way less than pleased.
Tomas’s whole body had started to shake as he stared up at Roman.
“Time to go,” Layla announced.
Still, Roman didn’t move. But he did say, “Rhonda sends her regards.”
Fear flashed across Tomas’s face.
Who the heck was Rhonda? Harper grabbed Roman’s arm. “They’re kicking us out.” He felt like steel beneath her grip. “Come on. He’s not talking.”
She pulled on Roman’s arm, and he followed her lead. But just as they reached the door—
“I swear,” Tomas’s voice was shaking just as much as his body had been, “I didn’t send anyone after you two. It was supposed to be easy. All I had to do was walk out with the ruby. She was going to take it. That’s it.”
“She?” Harper looked back.
But Tomas had clamped his lips together. Fear blazed in his eyes, but the man just shook his head.
“Not another word,” Kendrick ordered. “Until there is a real deal on the table. Harper, if you want to know more, then I need something worthwhile. Not threats. Not bullshit.”
Roman’s head turned toward him. “I don’t make threats, and I don’t deal in bullshit.” Without another word, he stalked out. Harper was right with him.
Her heart was racing. Her palms felt sweaty. As soon as the door shut behind them, Harper hauled Roman toward the corner a few feet away. “What was that about?” Harper’s voice was hushed. Trembly. “Did you just threaten to kill Tomas?”
“Like I said, I don’t make threats.” His gaze was still flat and hard. The lethal edge to his expression remained, and as she stared at him…
No, no, she was not afraid of Roman. Harper caught his hand in hers. “I know you’re upset about everything that has happened. But the good guys don’t get to go inside and threaten the criminals. It looks exciting and dramatic on TV shows, but in the real world, you can’t threaten to get some prisoners behind bars to beat the hell out of Tomas so that he’ll talk to you.”
He slid closer to her. “Oh, you’re still stuck on thinking that?”
The fire in his eyes… “Thinking what?”
“That I’m good. Figured you knew better.”
Her hand tightened on his. “Don’t you even try to play me right now. I’m not Tomas. I’m not going to buy your scary routine.”
“It isn’t a routine.” His voice rumbled at her. “If that bastard is involved in your kidnapping, he deserves to be scared. If he was involved in the attacks that almost took your life, he’ll beg and scream before I’m done with him.”
She pulled her lower lip between her teeth.
Roman’s head lowered toward her. “Looks to me,” he whispered, “like you’re getting scared.”
Is that what he thought? “Roman—”
“What in the hell was that?” Layla demanded as she stormed toward them. “And how did you know his mother was named Rhonda?”
Wait. Tomas’s mother was Rhonda?
“You can’t threaten someone in police custody,” Layla continued curtly. “You can’t—”
Roman straightened and turned toward her. “When you review the video footage, you’ll see that I never actually threatened him. I was very, very careful with my words.”
Harper replayed the scene in her mind.
“I talked about things that could happen, not things that would. After all, I’m not psychic.”
Harper realized that while they’d been in interrogation, Roman had been very careful regarding the placement of his body. As she walked through the scene once more, the images were stronger in her mind. He made sure to never face the camera recording the interrogation.
“Now, if you’ll excuse us,” he added. “Harper and I have places to be.”
They were still holding hands. He turned for the hallway and carefully pulled Harper with him.
“Nope.” Layla moved in front of him. “Who’s the partner?”
“Harper is my partner,” he replied seriously.
Her lips thinned. Layla shot a hard look at Harper. “Love the new guy.” Her tone said she did not. “So warm and friendly. Totally your type.” When she was mad, Layla had a tendency to say the opposite of what she meant.
Harper winced.
“Who is working with Tomas?” Layla pushed.
“What makes you think we know?” Roman asked with a shrug.
“Because you left interrogation. A man like you doesn’t just give up. You keep fighting until you get what you want.”
Kendrick had exited the interrogation room. He was hurrying toward them.
“We know what you do, detective. Tomas was working with a woman. Now Tomas is in jail, and she’s not.” Roman stared steadily back at Layla.
Harper’s mind spun with possibilities. She wanted to get to the museum. Review video footage. Talk to the staff. Her gut said the partner was an inside man—or, rather, woman. Time was wasting. “We’ll be sure to call as soon as we get a good lead,” Harper assured Layla. “Thanks for your help today, and, ah, good luck with trying out the ring. Personally, I think it’s a great fit.”
She wanted Roman gone before Kendrick got any closer. She and Roman double-timed it toward the elevator, they slipped inside and then—
Kendrick strode onto the elevator with them. The doors slid shut. Seemingly taking his time, Kendrick turned to face them. Then casually hit the emergency stop button.
Roman took a step forward, positioning his body just the slightest bit in front of Harper’s. A totally unnecessary move. Kendrick wasn’t a threat.
Was he?
“You’re not a former cop. You don’t have the polish for a Fed. I could see you as former CIA. Those agents use fear as their weapon of choice all the time.” Kendrick crossed his arms over his chest. “But if I didn’t know better, I’d go for mob boss. You know, because you have that whole I’ll-destroy-you-and-everyone-you-love vibe happening.”
Roman stared back at him.
“Silent again, huh?” Kendrick blew out a breath. “I get it, okay? Harper was pulled into the fray. You’re involved with her. The danger to her pissed you off, and now you’re out for blood, but you’re handling your shit wrong. You have to control your emotions, not let them control you.”
“I am in control.”
“You sure? Because it didn’t look that way to me. To me it looked like—”
“If I weren’t in control, your client wouldn’t have been breathing when I left that room. Like I said before, I don’t make threats. If I’d wanted him dead, he would have been before you could even take a step.”
Kendrick’s stare jumped toward Harper. “Where did Wilde find him?”
She wasn’t about to tell him that his guesses before hadn’t been far off the target.
“I don’t need anyone to tell me how to handle my shit,” Roman continued. “But thanks.”
Kendrick’s lips twitched. “I don’t know if I should be scared of you or if I should take you out for a drink.” His face sobered. “I’ll talk to my client. If there is someone else out there pulling the strings, someone who has tried to kill you both, then it’s in his best interest to talk. Dead bodies lead to longer prison terms.”
Uh, yes, yes, they did.
“Besides, I like Harper. It pissed me off, too, that she was targeted.” Kendrick tapped the button to restart the elevator. A good move because if they’d stayed there much longer, Harper was afraid that the cops in the building would have mounted a rescue mission.
The elevator descended in silence. When they reached the bottom floor, Kendrick motioned for them to head out first. As Harper passed him, he whispered, “You sure you know what you’re doing with him?”
Her head turned so she could meet his dark
stare. “I trust my partner.”
“And I trust my instincts,” he replied softly. “Watch yourself with him.”
Chapter Fifteen
“So…that got intense.” Harper finally spoke as they pulled up at the museum. Roman’s hands tightened around the wheel. She’d been uncharacteristically silent during the drive, and he hadn’t been sure how to break the wall that surrounded her.
He’d caught the lawyer’s last words to her. Watch yourself with him.
As if he’d ever do anything to hurt Harper. As if—
Oh, wait. Yes, I fucking am doing something to hurt her. I’m sleeping with her and not telling her that my father killed hers. That my father destroyed Harper’s family before she even had a chance to be born.
He killed the engine. Sat there a moment. “You don’t need to be afraid of me.”
“I almost was.”
His head whipped toward her.
“Back at the PD, when you went at Tomas, for a moment there, I felt like I was looking at a stranger.”
Not a stranger. The man he’d been before he met Harper. Before he’d gotten his sister Lacey in his life. Before he’d realized that Dex hadn’t betrayed him and left him for dead.
“But then I realized that was just your game face. Obviously, we were doing a round of good cop, bad cop.”
“Obviously.” His voice was gruff.
“I’d thought I was playing the role of bad cop, but you stepped it up. Like, way, way up.”
No, he hadn’t. “Harper…”
“How did you know his mother’s name?”
“Got Antony to dig it up for me. To text me the info.”
“Right. Makes sense. Not like you’d really ever target an enemy’s family.”
He looked away. “I want to see the security footage.”
“And while you do that, I want to see Charity.” She shoved open her door.
Roman grabbed the keys and followed her.
“Charity’s his assistant.” Harper reminded him as they made their way to the museum’s entrance. “She’ll know details about his personal life. She’ll be able to give us access to his calendar, tell us about any recent meetings he’s held, you know, that kind of thing. I don’t think you two officially met, but I was chatting with her when you approached me at the gala.”